FTSE 100 Shed 0.6% As Resources, Bank Stocks Fall

Market Overview - The U.K. stock market's benchmark FTSE 100 declined by 58.60 points or 0.58%, reaching 10,064.13 [1] - Losses were primarily driven by energy and mining stocks due to a drop in commodity prices [1] Mining Sector - Mining stocks experienced significant declines following a drop in precious metal prices, with Antofagasta and Fresnillo falling by 4.6% and 4.3%, respectively [2] - Other notable declines included Anglo American Plc at 2.7%, Endeavour Mining at approximately 1.6%, and Rio Tinto nearly shedding 1% [2] Energy Sector - Energy stocks also faced losses, with Shell and BP decreasing by 4% and 3.5%, respectively, attributed to a slip in oil prices after an agreement between the U.S. and Venezuela for the export of up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude oil [2] Gainers - Among the gainers, Barratt Redrow increased by 3%, Persimmon by 2.75%, Kingfisher by 2.5%, and Vodafone Group by 2.4% [3] Other Notable Stocks - British Land, LondonMetric Property, Relx, Land Securities, Segro, Mondi, Sainsbury (J), IMI, Berkeley Group Holdings, and Airtel Africa reported strong gains [4] - Conversely, Natwest Group and Intercontinental Hotels Group saw declines of 3.6% and 3.3%, respectively, along with other companies like Burberry Group, EasyJet, Diageo, Standard Chartered, Prudential, Entain, Barclays Group, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, and GSK [4] Economic Indicators - The S&P Global UK Construction PMI rose to 40.1 in December 2025 from a five-year low of 39.4 in the previous month, indicating a slight improvement in construction activity [5] - Civil engineering activity improved to 32.9 from 30.0 in November, while both housing activity and commercial construction saw declines [5]